Kryvyi Rih is a city of contrasts, records and paradoxes. He manages to be both the greenest and dirtiest city in Ukraine. Here is the deepest iron ore quarry in Europe and the strongest girl on the planet lives. Plus, it is the longest city in Europe.
In this article we will tell about the history, features and the most interesting sights of Krivoy Rog.
European record cities
In densely populated Europe, there are more than ten thousand cities: small and large, depressed and prosperous. In some of them, the hadron collider is tested, and in others, iron ore is extracted from the bowels of the Earth.
What is the longest city in Europe? Which is the largest in area? Which European metropolis has the largest number of people? These questions interest many. Let's try to answer them.
The largest city in Europe is Moscow. It covers an area of 2500 square kilometers (the state of Luxembourg occupies approximately the same territory). The most populated city in Europe could be considered Turkish Istanbul, which is home to over 14 million people. True, geographically, a third of Istanbul is located in Asia. If we take cities that are completely within Europe, then Moscow is again the leader with a population of 12 million people.
Where is the longest city in Europe? The name of this unusual settlement is Krivoy Rog. It is located in the central part of Ukraine, in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Its total length, according to various sources, ranges from 80 to 120 kilometers.
What is the longest city in the EU? If we confine ourselves to the borders of the European Union, then London will be the record holder in length. The maximum length of the British capital is 60 kilometers.
Kryvyi Rih: the history of the city and the origin of its name
Kryvyi Rih is the longest city in Europe. This phrase very often limits knowledge of this locality, and even among the residents of Kryvyi Rih. But he has a very interesting and multifaceted story!
Kryvyi Rih was founded in 1775 (according to other sources - in 1761) by free Zaporozhye Cossacks. According to legend, one of the founders of the city was called Horn. Since he limped on one leg, the nickname “Crooked” was attached to him. The whole city was named after this Cossack.
But this is nothing more than a funny legend. In fact, the history of the origin of this toponym is associated with the geographical features of the area. The city was founded at the confluence of two steppe rivers - Ingults and Saksagani. This is a cape, which in plan is very similar to a curved horn of a large animal. Apparently, the Zaporozhye Cossacks named their settlement precisely on the basis of the shape of this cape.
Until the end of the XIX century, Krivoy Rog remained a small village, the inhabitants of which were engaged in trade and small crafts. But everything changed after the richest deposits of iron ore were discovered in the local bowels. At the end of the 19th century, the first mines appeared in Krivoy Rog, and after fifty years the city became the most important metallurgical center of Europe.
Kryvyi Rih tourist
The longest city in Europe in recent years has attracted a considerable number of tourists, including from foreign countries. People come to Krivoy Rog to see grandiose industrial facilities (mines, quarries, failures), visit giant metallurgical plants, and enjoy unique mining landscapes.
Paradoxically, the city has sights of a different kind - historical, cultural, architectural and even natural. Next, we list the most interesting tourist sites of Krivoy Rog, which are worth visiting in the first place.
Industry: TOP 5 most interesting sites
The longest city in Europe, first of all, amazes with its man-made landscapes and industrial facilities. Kryvyi Rih landscapes can simply shock a tourist coming here for the first time. So, the five most interesting and impressive industrial sites of the city:
- Pervomaysky iron ore quarry is the deepest in Europe (today its depth reaches 400 meters);
- Burschitsky dump - the largest within the city, located above the Ingulets River;
- Arcelor Mittal - a giant in the metallurgical industry of Ukraine;
- mine failure funnels - unique anthropogenic formations reaching up to 100 meters in depth (there are a lot of them within Kryvbas);
- Kryvyi Rih Express Tram is a unique underground-ground transportation system in the city that has no analogues in Ukraine.
Nature: TOP 5 most interesting sites
Oddly enough, but in Krivoy Rog there is still room for wildlife. So, the five most interesting and impressive natural sites of the city:
- Kryvyi Rih Botanical Garden is a real plant oasis in the middle of an ultra-industrial city;
- Karachunovsky waterfall (height - 14 meters, located in the southern part of Krivoy Rog);
- Northern Red Beam - a local nature reserve in the northern part of the city;
- Rocks of MOPR - outcrops of ancient rocks on the banks of the Ingulets, whose age is estimated at 3.5 billion years;
- shale rocks with an old adit - a geological monument of nature on the banks of the Saksagan River.
Architecture: TOP 5 most interesting objects
The longest city in Europe can pleasantly surprise with its architecture. These are beautiful pre-revolutionary buildings, and buildings of the Stalin era, and more modern buildings.
We list the five most interesting architectural objects in the city:
- Belelubsky Bridge (1884);
- the railway station of the Krivoy Rog-Glavny station, reminiscent in appearance of the palaces of British magnates (1884);
- Transfiguration Cathedral (built in 1990);
- the estate of Vasily Dobrovolsky (1846);
- building of the Mining Institute (1940).